Mosquito Mega-Catch hits one back

The Mega Catch Mosquito Trap is completely ineffectual! Don't by this product!! There are about 5 mosquitos in the trap after using it for a week.
I live near a lake, in an arboretum where we have swarms of mosquitos. I can catch more mosquites in my 2 hands then this trap can. Save your money - look elsewhere. They don not stand behind their products or their claims.

Hi, I live in Miami and bought recently the mosquito mega catch and I think it works fine, it didn't eliminate the mosquito problem but it is catching mosquitoes, not 1.200 a night like they say but about 100 a week plus other bugs, I think is better than nothing also I have birds, dogs and fish in my backyard and I don't want to use more poison to fight the mosquitoes. I had to order the black light bulb and what I did was I sent them an e-mail and they called me from New Zealand and sent me some extra light bulbs. I want to buy another one and see if I can finally get rid of the problem or minimize it.
If you can't get in touch with the company e-mail them and they'll call you.

Bought mine last night at Canadian Tire in Peterborough, Ontario... May 30, 2008.

My pregger wife was out last night wakling our dog in the rain... and she was getting bit by the mosquitos. i didnt want to set this thing up last night as it was raining and i wanted to start it fresh this morning, however, she insisted on walking the dog, and i didnt want her to get bitten. So i set it up... and put it outside on our deck. I purchased the ULTRA and did not attach the CO2 right away, i did use the octenol and used the catch bag.. set it up... plugged it in... came back in (i was getting bitten!)

last night if you are in the area was some of the worst rain/thunder we have had up here in the last 6 years. woken up several times and was a little worried about the unit but thought, well if it can't perform in the rain.. how can they sell it.

Woke up this morning. moved the unit to a shadier area... plugged it in and started to read the instructions on the CO2 attachement. Was actually quite easy to attach, i had an old co2 container here for my beer fridge so hooked it up and went out to attach to my ultra... i attached it and as i was setting the co2 trickle level (i put it on 5 for a few hours) i was getting bit like crazy it was like a magnet... anyhow.. i came back in to research the water collection method and to see if i had put the bag on right... and found these reviews. i have to say i almost slit my throat after reading how bad everyones experience was. and then i saw the rain issues, etc... i was about to pack it up and take it back. but i went out with a bowl of soapy diet coke infused water and noticed almost no mosquitos around the unit.. 1 or 2 vs 10-15 when i was there earlier... i opened up the curtain and was happy to see that the "bag" method had collected lots of skeeters. now i can't count em. but they are small and if i were to guess, i would say somewhere around a 100. the corners of the bag at the bottom all the way around was pretty thick with em, and there were probably 4 or 5 that flew out when i took the bag off, and 10-15 moving around when i tightened up the string on the bag and put it beside me... i put the soapy mixture in. closed up the curtain and brought the bag over to my table. inside the bag i now notice a couple of moths and some other insect... not sure what it is.. maybe a fly...

Anyhow... my review is completely contrary to the majority here so i figured i'd post it.. 1 night isn't a proven success, but i have talked my way off the ledge.

now as an FYI.. i had a mosquito magnet when they first came available in canada... about 5 years ago.. the thing worked like a charm the first year... i mean we emptied that trap basket 4-5 times and we were almost skeeter free. year 2... got nothing. machine broke down i guess.. and attempts to get it fixed were frustrating as the only authorized repair in ontario (orillia) had no parts and over 100 of the devices in the back waiting for parts...

I'll post again in a few weeks when we come back up to the cottage with feedback on how it did while we were gone... maybe another post in the morning before we head home.

My own experience over two full years has me tempted to believe that the claims made for this machine, be it by the manufacturer, sellers or users, are, if not faked, then at least without basis in fact. I can count the mosquitoes caught in the tray on the fingers of one hand. I've tried every possible position around the house and the deck, with and w/o the octenol strip. I've had it run day and night. Except for moths, it doesn't catch anything. And I certainly do not see why NH (where I live), should be the only state where the thing doesn't work. To me, it belongs in the time honored company of snake oil.

I live in Ontario Canada on 2 acres of heavily wooded land and during the mosquito season it
is normally extremely unpleasant to try and work outside due to the
abundance of mosquitos. I visited a friend who lived in similar surroundings
and saw that he had the MegaCatch Ultra set up along a creek that ran
through his property. He showed me the unit and explained how it worked and
upon removing the wet container I was amazed at the number of dead mosquitos
inside. I was there in the late afternoon and found there to be few
mosquitos in the yard. He had decided not to use the CO2 feature of his unit
as he found it worked well without it.
I was impressed and after visiting the MegaCatch website, set about locating
a store that sold and had the MegaCatch in stock. I lucked out as one of our
local chain stores had the Premier on sale at considerable savings. I set
the Premier up the next day in very short order as I had read the manual
when I got home. Initially, I set the unit up near the vegetable garden and
let it run for 2 consecutive days. I then programmed the unit to run for 4
hours in the morning and 5 hours in the evening. Within a couple of days I
could work in the garden without being bothered by mosquitos. After 5 days I
decided to change the water in the container and see just how many bugs I
had trapped. I was surprised to see that there was almost 1/2 inch of dead
mosquitos suspended in the fluid near the bottom and only a few moths on
top.
I next decided to move the MegaCatch to the front yard near the drainage
ditch. It has been there for 2 days now and I took a quick peak at the catch
so far and it looks like it will exceed the catch in the back yard.
It seems that the MegaCatch Premier performs as advertised and if it
continues to operate this well, I anticipate purchasing a second unit in
order to trap mosquitos in both the front and back yards. I am a satisfied
customer who has taken back his property from the invading of mosquitos.

If you want to buy a new machine every year then the Mega-catch is for you. My light burned out, fan quit, and the timer quit. All this in one year and I keep it in the garage aal winter. There is NO TECH SUPPORT!!! Your e-mails go to a black hole, never to be heard from again. Save your money.

So far so bad. We have barely caught anything. A full 3 days of continuous operation and all we got were a couple of moths and about 8 mosquitos. The shaded area I placed the unit in is so infested with mosquitos that you cannot walk outside without having about 2 dozen land on you at once! We should have known better. The data say that mosquitos are attracted to CO2 and heat. The Mega Catch provides none of these. All it has is little disco lights to attract the mosquitos. We were jokingly going to call it "Club DDT" but obviously the drinks aren't good enough for the patrons and there's nothing funny about sending $300 down the drain! Don't bother with this product.

I'm on my second season using the MEGA-CATCH...The black light has not burned out and the machine works...Much better than a Mosquito Magnet or Mosquito Deleto..

i bought the mega catch premier may 2006. we had great success with it until august, when it was insane with mosquitoes across all of new jersey. i use the water with the soap/soda mix and the octenol strips. i leave ours out all the time in a shady place with some protection (tree overhang) from rain. our black light has never burned out. i just set our up for this year and it looks like it needs cleaned out, but it will be a 1st for that. i may try to get some tiger mospquito strips and see if that will help later in the summer.

I bought the Mega Catch premier with high hopes of ridding the hordes of mosquitos at my cottage in Ontario Canada. After 2 days of continuous operation it had only caught a couple of dozen. I called the help line and they told me to remove the octenol strip since apparently some mosquitos are repelled by it. After another couple of days it had managed to catch close to 100. The next few days the catch went back down to just a dozen or so a day. The mosquitos are so bad where I located the trap that you can not breathe through your mouth without inhaling them, yet this unit can only catch a few each day. I killed more mosquitos by swatting them when I was checking the trap than the trap had caught in a 24 hour period. After a 10 day 24/7 operation trial I have pulled the plug on it and I am returning the unit. It simply does not catch any where near enough mosquitos to make any impact on their proliferating population. Cool idea but it just doesn't work or at least not with the mosquitos we have here.

We bought the Mega Catch last year. My kids couldn't go outside without getting all bitten up, unless I wanted to spray "poison" on them to keep the mosquitoes away. I live in upstate NY, in the woods, near a brook so we always had mosquito problems. We are looking to buy another Mega-Catch in addition to the one we have. We both love it. Never had problems nor had to change the light bulb (so far). I only use the water, soda, soap mixture and have never used the strips. I still have them in the package. I only change my water once a week also. I DO NOT leave it running 24/7 though. It runs 8-12 hours a day. I do not work for the company, but I wish I knew someone who did so maybe I could get one since they seem to be sold out where ever I have looked so far. I say try it, if you don't like it bring it back to the store. Hopefully you'll be pleased like us and want 2 of them also if you have 16 acres like us!!!

My experiences with my 2 Ultras have been totally different than B Young. One bulb died after completing 1 season the other is still operational. My wet catch container lasts for at least a week - this is after running the units for 8 hours per day (4 at dusk and 4 at dawn) which is recommended. With fresh solution you can see mosquitoes after 1 night. After a week the solution is a soupy mix given all the catch. I have contacted the company in New Zealand via e-mail and receive responses within 24-48 hours. I have also spoken directly with a senior member of management on 2 occasions. He is prompt in returning my calls. Lastly, my skeptical wife is a big fan of the unit. After a month of use she threw a cocktail party for some friends on our back terrace from 7-9:30PM. All the women commented how things were bug free and wanted to know what was the "thing with lights." I will also point out that I am surrounded by woods with wetlands on 2 sides. I do not work for the company - rather I am an investment banker who looks forward to spending time in his backyard with family and friends. Well most of my friends use (or try to use) the Mosquito Magnet and the hardware stores in town do a nifty busines selling monthly service contracts on those units where they replace the propane tank and clean and check the unit. Alternatively my CO2 tanks last a full season and I can clean and maintain my fan assembly quite easily with a screwdriver, a damp rag and some WD-40, when needed. I believe there are two ways to do things...the way most people do it ...and the right way. I'll be sticking with my Mega Catch.

I am in my 3rd yr with the Mega Catch and the light bult is a big deal. Always burns out. And where do you find the octenol refills at a decent price? Disappointment is the word. When it was new and everything hummed along, these Nebraska mosquitoes were doomed. Now?????

I had a mosquito magnet, which worked well for one season but it failed to start up last spring- the CO2 system was plugged. After a great deal of fooling with it, I gave up and bought a different system. I got a mega-catch because it had no CO2 and it seems to catch just as many mosquitos as the other unit- sometimes a lot (when wet) and sometimes not many. I leave it out 24/7 rain or shine. It does not catch much if we leave it in a hot, sunny area. It works better in a shady spot, so we stick it under a tree near some bushes. My black light burned like yours, as well, I never bothered to replace it. In my experience the Mega-catch works reasonably well. I'm in Iowa and whatever mosquito we have here, it appears to catch them. I can't imagine how you catch no mosquitos- the unit definitely does catch mosquitos. Maybe the bait you have, does not draw your type of mosquito? I'm starting to think the bait is doing most of the work.

I've read the reviews on Amazon and they seem professionally written...like little mini commercials and some side minor negatives to "prove" it's a real customer. Thanks for the honest feedback & review.

I'm afraid I had the same hopes and disappointments as b. young. My light bulb burned out quickly (and I can't find replacements locally), the whole thing shorted out in the rain, and it catches more moths than mosquitos (I live in California, I don't think I have Tiger mosquitos). I now wish I had purchased something else. I'm sorely disappointed, as well as upset at being duped into spending hundreds of dollars on a product that does not seem to work.

Thanks b.young for saving me the money I was really considering buying this...

I read a lot of reviews before I went out and bought a mega catch premier. All the reviews raved about how good it worked and how many mosquitoes it catches. After the very disappointing results I have had with mine, I am starting to think that it’s nothing but sales people writing these reviews. Let me start by saying in May I bought my premier and was looking forward to taking back my patio on warm summer nights. I read all the instructions, and did what I was supposed to do. I used the octenol lures with little to no results. The mosquitoes where out there I have the bites to prove it but the only thing I catch is moths and nats mostly due to the black light bulb, which in mine was burned out in less then three weeks. I had to go buy a new bulb and now a month or so later this black light bulb is burned out. You get maybe a month out of a black light but they don't tell you that. Mega catch should send you a new bulb with every two pack of octenol you buy. I use the water method and I have read reviews where people state that they change the water once a week. I know that is a load of crap because in the summer heat with a fan blowing on the water you get maybe two days of usage before the water is evaporated. I leave mine on all day and night when the weather is dry. Now I will admit that the mosquitoes that I have here in New Jersey are tiger mosquitoes and that the octenol doesn’t work on them. In other reviews I have read that if you use the scent that mosquito magnet makes for tiger mosquitoes it does a hell of a job. Well I bought a three pack and used two in my machine with no results at all. Then there are these four little LED’s that flash in a rotating fashion that I have become convinced the only thing attracted to that is a human as he watches the different colors flash and spin. Now that my black light bulb is burned out again I won’t be catching any moths or nats. Without them, I won’t be catching anything. I would like to know who conducted these tests because it has to be a total load of crap. Hell I can say I will fly to the moon next week but it doesn’t make it so. The kicker is that I cover my machine when it rains out so I don’t have mine on 7 days a week. Only when the weather is dry, which in the summer is most of the time. This is because Mega Catch can’t do me the courtesy to answer a simple question that I emailed them with a month ago. I wanted to know if I could leave my machine on in the rain but have never received a answer so instead of seeing it short out I just cover it so it doesn’t get wet. So I guess I don’t even get a complete month out of a black light bulb. I really had high hopes for this device but am so let down by poor performance that it sickens me. I wish I could send it back but I have a better chance of catching 10,000 mosquitoes in one evening….not.
To those of you who are sitting on the fence wondering if you should buy this machine, do yourself a favor and look somewhere else. I can’t say if there is a machine out there to stop your mosquito problem, I can say it’s not the Mega Catch Premier. If someone finds a device that really does work, I’d be willing to give it a serious look.